


Into the Mind

by Littlerexie



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Homeless Peter Parker, Hydra (Marvel), I'm Bad At Tagging, Protective Avengers, Protective Steve Rogers, Protective Tony Stark
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-09
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2020-01-07 05:19:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18403916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Littlerexie/pseuds/Littlerexie
Summary: Peter hesitated before answering. He quickly came up with a lie that was as close to the truth as possible, just as Natasha had taught him.“Parker. Parker Richards.”“Alright, Parker.” The name sounded weird coming from Tony’s voice. “We’re going to get you up to the med wing as soon as possible. Is there anyone I can call for you?”Emotion overwhelmed Peter as he realized, not for the first time, how totally alone he was.----------It's been three weeks since the incident involving Hydra. Three weeks since Peter first started living on the streets. Three weeks since Peter's family, more commonly known as the Avengers, forgot about him.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I am so excited for this story! I've had the idea in my head for a long time now, but my life has been so busy lately. Hope it's okay!

     Peter Parker had been walking all morning by the time he finally reached the tower. Walking was probably a very kind term to describe his unbalanced stumbling, but Peter could barely think straight, let alone walk with ease. He knew somewhere in the back of his mind that he shouldn’t be here, that he was putting people at risk, but his half-delirious mind had sought out something familiar.

     Peter barely noticed as he passed through the pristine sliding glass doors and into the lobby he would normally be able to navigate with his eyes closed. He barely even noticed the shift in atmosphere as all eyes turned toward the raggedy teenage boy stumbling through the entrance. What he did notice, though, was the almost imperceptible “ding” of the private elevator as it came to a stop on the ground floor. He sagged with relief at the thought of who might walk out of that elevator. He just needed someone familiar, someone he knew would be able to help him figure out this situation. Peter stopped moving forward as all his energy was put into concentrating solely on those elevator doors. As they slid open, he caught a glimpse of the person he had come so achingly far to see and absolute relief flooded his body. It lasted all of two seconds before a tall shadow blocked his vision. A woman tentatively grabbed his elbow, her eyes full of concern.

 

“Are you alright? Do you need me to call somebody?”

 

  
      Peter could barely hear her words, so he opted to instead listen for the familiar click of expensive dress shoes on the polished marble. His vision was swimming and his legs were weak, but he paid no attention as his knees hit the solid floor. He just kept looking, searching for the sound that meant he was safe. The last thing he saw before darkness swallowed him up completely was a pair of perfectly shined shoes stop in their course to the exit and turn in his direction.

 

\--------------------

 

Tony Stark was having an average day. The first one in years, in fact. There had been no national emergencies, no threats, no invasions, just a normal day at the tower. Which is why, when he saw a random teenager collapse in the lobby of his building, his first thought was “There it is.”

  
Now, despite what the populous might think and what his past might suggest, Tony was not one to walk away from chaos. He quickly made his way toward the scene, parting through the gathering crowd as he went. Assessing the situation, he turned toward the ceiling in question.

  
“Friday?”

  
“The boy’s vitals appear thready. I recommend getting him to the med wing as soon as possible.”

  
Tony sighed.

  
“Can you get more specific, Fri?”

  
“My previous records suggest that a fast heart rate is normal for him. However, his blood pressure is what’s concerning. I suggest –”

  
“Wait, What? How do you have previous records on this kid?”

  
Friday stayed eerily silent, which in and of itself was a whole different mystery.  
Deciding that was a predicament for another time, he looked back down at the boy sprawled on the floor before taking out his phone and paging the medical staff.

 

\------------------

 

Peter’s eyes fluttered open just before the med team arrived. All in all, he was only out about a minute, but it was enough to thoroughly disorient him.

  
“Wha- Where am I?”

  
He looked around wildly before the familiar surroundings kick started his memory. His eyes fell on the pair of expensive, well tailored shoes on his left. He groaned.

  
“Welcome back, kid,” He saw Tony kneel down beside him, “You’re in Avengers Tower. Do you remember what happened?”

  
Peter just sat there, looking anywhere but Tony.

  
“All right, then. How many fingers am I holding up?”

  
“Four” Peter answered in barely a whisper.

  
“Ok. What’s your name?”

  
Peter hesitated before answering. He quickly came up with a lie that was as close to the truth as possible, just as Natasha had taught him.

  
“Parker. Parker Richards.”

  
“Alright, Parker.” The name sounded weird coming from Tony’s voice. “We’re going to get you up to the med wing as soon as possible. Is there anyone I can call for you?”

  
Emotion overwhelmed Peter as he realized, not for the first time, how totally alone he was. Thankfully, he was saved from answering as two nurses approached. One crouched down next to Peter, asking a series of questions that he vaguely answered. His focus was drawn to the spot a few feet away where the second nurse was questioning Tony about what he had seen. Tony was obviously just as confused as everyone else as to why this random kid had come to the avengers tower of all places to promptly pass out.

  
“–ou walk?” the nurse asked Peter.

  
“Huh?”

  
The nurse looked to where Peter had been staring and gave a kind smile.

  
“Intimidating, right?”

  
“You have no idea.” Was all Peter said in return.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

About five minutes in to being in the med-wing, Peter was already regretting every decision he had ever made in his life. He was feeling a little less disoriented, at least enough to feel the weight of how thoroughly he had messed up. They had done a full check up on him and now he was sitting, awaiting the results. He knew exactly what it would say, he was all too aware that he hadn’t had any water in the past 24 hours and food the last few weeks had been somewhat scarce. Stupid enhanced metabolism just made everything worse. He needed to find a way out of there as soon as possible before they found out any more about him.  
He surveyed his surroundings. There was a window in the room, and it seemed like it could open and close easy enough. The trouble would be how to actually get out of it without raising any suspicions as to who he actually was. He couldn’t just jump out a fifth story window and disappear without someone putting two and two together about spiderman. So, he would have to find another way. Just as he was formulating the beginnings of his plan, a man with a pristine white lab coat stepped into the room. His head was down, looking curiously at the tablet in his hand. A man sauntered in behind him, and although Peter couldn’t see his face, he was immediately identifiable. Peter’s heart sank as Tony Stark stepped out from behind the doctor.

  
“So, It’s nice to see you not in a comatose- like state! Parker, was it?”

  
Peter nodded his head at the man.

  
“Well, kid, Dr. Russo here,” Tony gestured to the man beside him, “is going to talk to you for a bit. Doctor, take it away.”

  
And then they got in a discussion about blood sugar and dehydration and basically everything he already knew. Honestly, he zoned out about half way through, thoughts drifting instead to how everything went so wrong so fast. It had only been three weeks since he and the rest of the Avengers had been kidnapped. Only three weeks ago that he lost his family to the mind manipulation of Hydra. It still seemed so surreal. He really didn’t mean for this to happen, didn’t want things to have ended up this way, but this is how they were and he had somewhat accepted that. Or at least he thought he had.  
He was pulled out of his reverie by the doctor tapping his shoulder. Peter looked up just in time to see him and Tony exchange a glance.  
“I’m going to be real frank with you, kid. You clearly ran away from home. And as someone who’s been there and understands that, I’m not going to make you call your parents. But there has to be someone else out there. An aunt or Uncle? A third cousin twice removed? Someone who can help you figure this situ-”

  
“I didn’t run away.” Peter looked down at his hands.

  
Tony looked confused for a second before the realization dawned on him.

  
“You really don’t have anyone, do you? You’re homeless?”

  
Tony hadn’t even entertained the thought. It was so horrible to imagine that someone so young could somehow end up so alone.

 

The doctor spoke up now. “You can’t be any older than 17, How did you get out of foster-care?”

 

Peter panicked. He had so far avoided foster care under the pretense that they didn’t know he existed. Not anymore at least. But if Tony called them now, information could get out and more questions would be raised. Questions that would only put people in danger. Peter looked up with pleading eyes.

  
“Please don’t call them.”

  
Tony sighed.

  
“You can’t just go back to living on the streets.”

 

“I can’t go into the system! I just can’t! Please!” Peter took a breath. “Please.”

  
Tony turned to the doctor and they seemed to have a silent conversation. He looked back at Peter with unreadable eyes.

 

“We’ll give you a few minutes to think of someone- anyone- who could take care of you. If you can’t think of anyone, we’re going to have to make the call,” Peter’s eyes widened at just the mention. Tony softened his tone. “It’s for the best, Parker. At least there you’ll have a roof over your head.”

 

With that Tony and Dr. Russo exited the room. Peter reacted immediately. Acting on pure adrenaline at that point, he sprung up and ran into the hall. He saw Tony had taken a left, so he decided on the hallway to his right. Peter followed the clearly marked signs down the corridor and found his way to the elevator, which he quickly summoned. It arrived almost instantly and he surged inside, all the while looking behind his shoulder for the tell-tale signs that he was being chased. The ride down to the lobby was filled with peter’s racing thoughts and fading energy. He figured he had about a minute before completely crashed. Again. After what felt like an eternity (which in reality was only about 20 seconds), the elevator doors slid open to show Peter the immaculate lobby once more.  
Peter raced for the exit, ignoring all the somewhat alarmed looks he was getting from Tower’s inhabitants. He ran out the doors and didn’t let himself relax until he reached an alley a few streets over.

 

He felt so stupid in that moment. How could he? How could he let himself put the people he cared about in danger. Hydra had been very clear what would happen if he made contact with the Avengers, if he tried to get them to remember again. Even if he hadn’t been in his right mind when he found his way back to the tower, he doubted Hydra would care. He was lucky he got out of there so fast.

  
Still, a part of him was destroyed that Tony hadn’t remembered. If his own father didn’t recognize him, what chance did he have of ever getting his family back.  
Peter quickly swept those thoughts away. He couldn’t afford to think about them. They were gone- or more accurately he was gone from their memories.

  
The fact stung more every time it passed his mind, and even though he didn’t regret any of the decisions he had made to save his family, he sometimes wished he could just have one last chance to say goodbye before they forgot him for good.


	2. Chapter 2

 One week after what Peter deemed the “tower incident”, he was back to swinging full speed between the buildings of Queens. He had made finding food and water one of his top priorities the past few days, and even if it still wasn’t technically enough, he was feeling better. Or, more accurately, he didn’t feel like he was going to keel over _every_ time he stood up.

   

So, in light of this, he decided it was time to go back out as Spiderman. He had stopped for a few days in order to let himself recuperate (which was _such_ a hard decision, but he figured he’d be useless to everyone if he was passed out in some alleyway.)

  

Plus, he had started to really miss going out as the webbed vigilante. No one may have missed Peter Parker, but people were bound to notice the absence of Spiderman.

  

Which is why, Peter was crouched low on the top of a 14 story building on a random Tuesday morning when his spidey-sense violently rang out. Peter shot up, twisting around so his back was to the corner of the roof as an explosion tore through the city. He sprung into action. Leaping off the building, Peter raced to the site of the disturbance, helping a few bystanders flee the streets as he went.

 

When he finally reached his destination, Peter froze. There were robots _everywhere_.

He scoffed.

“So unoriginal.”

 

The bots were vaguely human shaped, except for the fact that they had weapons covering basically every surface. They were firing pretty randomly, though, which was a good sign to Peter. At least they didn’t seem to have a specific target.

 

Peter had a sudden moment of confusion as he looked out amongst the chaos. There were at least 50 bots lying already disabled on the ground. How did that happen? For a second, Peter guessed they had been victim to the random shooting of their metal counterparts, but that theory was quickly scrapped as he heard the oh so familiar sound of repulsors come to a stop behind him.

 

“Spiderman.” Tony greeted

 

Peter cursed his life. He had been pretty successful at avoiding the Avengers these past few weeks. He should have guessed they would be here, but then again, the need to help definitely outweighs any personal drama Peter has.

 

“Hey, man!” Peter attempted to be casual, but his voice squeaked a little on the last syllable. That was definitely not the nonchalant vibe he was going for.

 

“Ok then,” Tony said slowly, “We’ve pretty much got everything under control right now, so stay low and try to round up any last civilians. Got it?”

 

Peter stared at the metal suit a little incredulously. He had only just got there, but from the looks of the, oh I don’t know, say a hundred robots still left standing, they could use any help they could get.

 

“Mr. Stark, I can help! I know I can d-”

 

“Nuh uh, absolutely not. You’ve been helpful to us in the past, that’s true, but this is bigger than anything you’ve ever dealt with. So lay low, kid.”

 

Peter protested, “I’m not a kid!”

 

“That’s exactly what a kid would say.”

 

Peter fixed him with a very unimpressed look, which was very hard to do behind a mask.

Tony sighed.

 

“Look, you can’t be any older than what, 20? That’s still a kid in my books, and I will not be responsible for your death.” Without waiting for a response, Tony turned around blasted off into the fight once more.

 

Peter, momentarily stunned, shook himself back into reality.

 

“Fine.” He breathed to himself, “I guess I’m laying low.”

  
  


\----------------------------------------------------

  
  


In Peter’s defence, he _did_ lay low. For about three minutes. Then he found the source of where the bots were activated, and well, It wasn’t like he had any way to contact the Avengers, so he decided to take matters into his own hands.

 

Bad Idea, _very_ bad idea.

 

The second he stepped into the abandoned office building (which, seriously, how much more cliche could this situation get) he was suddenly swarmed by bots. These robots were different, though. They seemed, well, smarter than the ones outside. They stood in a vague formation and instead of shooting randomly, they took their time to train their guns on Peter.

  


_This has to be it,_ Peter thought, _They’re guarding whatever’s controlling them._

 

He slowly raised his hands in what he hoped looked like a placating gesture and smirked.

 

“This really has been fun you guys, but I’ve got things to do, so…” And with that, he angled his web shooters to the ceiling and pulled himself up.

 

What Peter was aiming to do was use the momentum he gained through the swing to bounce off the ceiling and land in the middle of the room, which they were clearly trying to protect. What _actually_ happened was three of the robots fired their guns as Peter flew midair, causing him to crash to the ground before he ever reached his destination.

 

Lucky for Peter, The guns they carried didn’t shoot actual bullets, just beams of electricity, so he didn’t have to deal with getting impaled. Unlucky for him, getting electrocuted _sucked._ Pain lit up his body and all the energy was zapped out of him.

 

Peter lay there, perfectly still and unable to fight back as five of the robots surrounded him. The one standing closest to his head crouched down mechanically and roughly ripped off his mask. Peter’s eyes went wide. With his mask, he was Spiderman. Invincible and sure of himself at all times. Without it, though, he was just Peter Parker. Someone who not even his own family could remember.

 

_This was so not good._

 

He tried to fight, he tried to stand his ground, but the most he managed to do was shift his arm. Which, of course, only alerted the bots to the fact that he was still conscious. They immediately pounced on him, kicking and grabbing and he was helpless to do anything. He could feel every punch, but he couldn’t move, couldn’t protect himself.

 

Peter was terrified. Terrified that he wouldn’t make it out of this, that he would never see the people he cared about again, that he would never even get to say goodbye.

 

The thoughts swirled around his mind in a nonstop whirlwind and he could practically see his chances dwindling.

 

But then it stopped.

 

There was a sound of metal clashing on metal and all the bots that were previously focused on Peter turned to face the commotion. He only caught a glimpse of red and gold before the world lit up and the bots were blasted backwards.

 

Heavy footsteps approached, and Peter made a struggling attempt to cover his now unmasked face. Two metal feet crouched down by his head and Peter braced himself, expecting another barrage of attacks from the bots. Instead, a gentle grip touched his arm.

_What?_ Peter thought.

  


“How badly are you hurt?”

 

Relief rushed through Peter at the sound of Tony’s voice. Then dread. He could _not_ see his face. Under _no_ circumstances could he let Tony know his identity. It was just too much of a risk, especially after last week.

 

“I’m okay, really Mr. Stark, I… I’ll be fine. The source of the bots, It’s… it’s over ...there” Peter’s voice was weak and trembled with contained panic. He really didn’t want Tony to leave him here, but he knew it was the best option. I mean, he’d be okay on his own. Probably.

 

“I already disabled the source. Now cut the bullshit, kid. You can barely talk. Remove your arm from your face so I can see if you have a concussion.” Tony’s words may have been sharp, but his tone was calming. Peter hated it. It would be so much easier if Tony acted indifferent towards him.

 

“No, no I can’t.” Peter tried weakly.

 

Behind Tony, he heard the vague sound of footsteps. Peter attempted to sit up, but was held back by Tony’s hand.

 

“It’s just Bruce, Kid. Bruce Banner, he’s going to help you.”

 

Peter planted his arm more firmly around his face. He was starting to see no way out of this.

 

He heard Tony give Bruce the rundown of the situation before he felt someone kneel down beside him.

 

“Hey, spiderman, I was wondering if I could take a look at you face? I know you want to protect your secret identity, but there will be no identity to protect if you don’t let us help you.”

 

Sensing that Peter was still unconvinced, he sighed and added, “We’re the Avengers, we won’t let anyone besides us find out. I promise, Spiderman, and I don’t take promises lightly.”

Bruce place his hand lightly on his shoulder as if to seal the promise. Peter could feel his resolve slipping. He _was_ in a lot of pain and the longer he lay there, the more obvious it became that he wasn’t going to be able to just get up on his own.

 

“You can’t freak out.” Was all Peter said.

 

Tony snorted.

 

“Kid, we’ve been doing this a long-ass time. Trust me, we’ve seen every-”

 

Peter slid his arm away from his face and Tony swore.

 

“Parker Richards?”

 

Peter attempted a laugh and made a split second decision. There was no way The Avengers were going to let him leave on his own. There was also no way Hydra wouldn’t find out about this. They were going to come after the Avengers either way, so why not tell them the truth, let them prepare for the inevitable.

 

He was definitely going to regret this later, but the words had already slipped out of his mouth.

 

“My name… It’s not Parker Richards. It's Peter Parker, and I…” Peter met Tony’s eye and managed a pained half-smile, “I am -- well, was-- your son.”

  


\---------------------------------------------------------------------

  
  


Tony had been doing this a long time, and he’d had no shortage of people claiming that they’d either had his child or were his child.

 

This seemed different, though.

 

Tony had been gathering and regathering all the facts as soon as they got back to the tower and the boy was in the med-wing:

 

#1. The first time Tony had met the kid was a week ago, when he had called himself Parker Richards

 

#2. Tony had known he was lying about the name because he did a background search and had come up blank. Plus the kid was quite obviously a shitty liar.

 

#3. After hearing the kid’s “real” name, Tony felt something pull at his mind. He couldn’t describe it, but it was like his head was trying _so_ hard to remind him of something.

 

#4. Friday had acted like she had previous records on the kid the day he passed out in the lobby, then refused to answer any questions Tony tried to ask about it. Almost like even she was trying to get him to notice something.

  


Tony sighed in frustration. He was getting nowhere.

 

“Friday, can you do a background check on all Peter Parkers, aged 16-17 living in New York City?”

Half a second passed, then..

 

“One result found.” came Friday’s uncharacteristically short reply.

 

“Great, pull it up, Fri.”

 

“I’m sorry, Sir Peter Parker’s information is being blocked by an unknown source.”

 

Tony blinked, “Well isn’t that just fantasti-- wait. What? Did you just say ‘Sir Peter Parker’?”

 

The AI stayed silent.

 

Tony swiveled around in his chair and pulled up Friday’s coding. Friday only ever called Tony ‘Sir’. (Well, sometimes she called the other Avengers that too, but only if she was feeling particularly generous.) She never, ever called a stranger that. Which meant…

  


Friday knew him. And not only did she know him, she _liked_ him. At least enough to call him ‘sir’.

 

Tony furiously searched through every inch of coding, only stopping when the sight in front of him made his blood run cold.

 

It had been changed.

 

Tony ran as fast as he could, not stopping or even slowing down until he reached the med-wing. He would have barged straight into the kid’s room, had it not been for the strong arm that held him back at the entrance.

 

“Tony, what’s going on? What’s wrong?” Steve’s concerned face filled his vision, and he stopped to take a breath.

 

“Tony, seriously, talk to me.”

 

“I have to see him.” was all Tony said.

 

A look of confusion passed through Steve’s eyes.

 

“Why? And is that really such a good idea? I mean, he’s claiming to be your son, it’s probably a trap.”

 

“Oh, it most definitely is, and we walked right into it.” Tony shook his head, trying to get past steve’s grip, but he held firm.

 

“Tony. Explain.”

 

Tony just closed his eyes, still trying- and failing- to connect the dots, which was a clue in and of itself.

 

“He’s telling the truth, steve.”

 

“What?” Steve momentarily let go, which gave Tony enough of a release to break away and slip through the door. Steve, shaking himself out of the shock, immediately followed.

 

The first thing Tony noticed when he stepped into the room was that the kid looked _awful._ He was covered in bruises and cuts and the bags under his eyes could rival Tony’s own. And that was just what could be seen. The next thing he noticed was that the kid was actively trying to get out of the hospital bed.

 

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Tony rushed forward, and the kid looked up at him with wary eyes.

 

“I told you, Mr. Stark, I’m okay. I was actually going to see if I could find you?” Peter looked down at the floor. “I have to talk to you- and preferably the other Avengers too.”

 

“Well, kid, we’re going to have to leave that conversation for when you don’t look about three inches from death. And then, you can definitely explain to me why my own goddamn AI has been messed with. For now, you need to stay put.”

 

Peter’s eyes widened and he looked haunted.

 

“We need to talk about this _now.”_

 

“No, You need to rest _now_.” Tony made a motion to grab the door handle, but was stopped short.

 

“No, wait! You have to listen to me, They’re coming!” Peter started to visibly shake at that point. “Oh god, they’re probably already here, they’re going to--”

 

This time, it was Steve who spoke up.

 

“Who are you talking about?”

 

Peter looked up from his spot on the floor and shuddered.

 

“Hydra.”

 

Tony stared with wide eyes at the boy in front of him, refusing to break eye contact as if that would make the situation any less dire.

 

“Steve, gather the team.”

 

\-----------------------------------------------------------

  


The Avengers Team were all gathered around in the tiny hospital room, each with varying degrees of intimidating stares aimed at the teenager in the center of the room. Most of them had a hard time trusting anyone, much less someone who claimed to be Tony’s _son._ The idea was completely and utterly laughable.

 

“I-I don’t know where to start.” Peter admitted, wringing his hands back and forth.

 

Clint visibly rolled his eyes at that, while Natasha just glared harder. To Peter, seeing his family react to him like this- like a stranger- was beyond nerve-wracking. He was pretty sure that if there wasn’t the imminent threat of danger looming above them all, he would have already turned tail and run.

 

“Just start from the beginning, kid.” Tony’s voice filtered through Peter’s panic. He took a deep breath.

 

“Before I start, I need to know that you all are going to stay for the whole story. It’s going to be hard to believe, but I’m just asking you to hear me out, ok?”

 

Everyone looked at each other for a second then nodded back at Peter.

 

“Ok, well, I was adopted when I was four. My parents had just died and I was scared and alone. The other kids in the group home kept telling me that I would probably be there for a while, I was pretty old to want to be adopted. Then…. Then Tony Stark came to visit. He -well, you-” Peter said, looking at Tony, “came around to all the kids and just talked to us. I don’t remember a lot of what happened that day, but you’ve told the story to me hundreds of times. Apparently, you’d do that sometimes. Just go around to kids in shelters and group homes and introduce yourself. You told me it was for the “good publicity” but Pepper always told me that you made anyone who saw you sign a non-disclosure deal. You did it just because you liked brightening the kids’ lives.”

 

At this, Peter looked around the room, as if daring anyone to disagree. No one did.

 

“Anyways, as the story goes, You never wanted to adopt a child, never even thought about it. Until, one day, you ventured out to a little home in Queens, the group home I was staying at. You told me everything seemed normal, and then you stepped inside. Apparently, there was a group of a couple seven year olds screaming at a little five-year-old girl. You were about to step in and defuse the situation, when a tiny boy stepped right in the middle of the conflict and just stood there, completely unafraid of the consequences. The seven year olds turned on the smaller boy and began to scream at him instead, giving the little girl a way out. She took it, and you just stood there, stunned. You told me that was the moment you knew you were going to adopt that little boy, who, if you hadn’t already guessed, was me.”

 

Peter stopped for a moment, and Clint interjected.

 

“This makes no sense! Tony didn’t adopt a kid!”

 

Tony was staring at Peter a little funnily, and waved him on to continue.

 

“You told me that for two weeks, you went back to the little home and got to know me, all the while setting up everything legally to adopt me. It took a little bit, but eventually things fell into place. You said it was simultaneously the hardest and best thing that had ever happened to you.

I kept my last name, and everything was kept very hush hush, because you knew that I would become a target if people found out. But the people that did know about me” He glanced around the room, “always called me ‘Mini-Stark’ because we were so much alike.”

 

Peter sighed a little.

“About two years ago, I became Spiderman. I went on a field trip to Oscorp.” Tony groaned and Peter smiled, “While I was there, a radioactive spider bit me, giving me all these _amazing_ abilities. Once I found out about my powers, I knew I had to use them to help people. So I designed a formula for my ‘webs’ and built my own web-shooters. I didn’t tell anyone about it, not even you, Tony. I went out in red and blue sweats every night  and swung around the city stopping crime. I met Iron-man as spiderman one day, and I was so sure I was caught. But you just told me, ‘Spidey, your fashion sense is terrible’ and threw a briefcase containing my current suit inside. I really wish, for multiple reasons, that I had told you right then and there who I actually was. Maybe it would’ve prevented what comes next.”

 

“About two months ago, we were all fighting against this terrorist group that had all these insanely dangerous weapons. Turns out, it was all a rouse set up by Hydra. They wanted to cause a distraction, get all the Avengers down in one place. You see, they found out about me. Peter Parker, Spiderman, everything. So, they isolated me during the main fight and grabbed me. I don’t remember much from after that, it was all pretty hazy. The next thing I remember was waking up in a cell and….. You guys were there too. I guess they must have gotten word to you and negotiated my release for your capture. Except Hydra doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to being truthful.”

 

Peter shook his head.

 

“I’m not sure exactly what they did to you guys, but they would take you each for 30 minute intervals at a time. Every time you all came back, you’d be… different for a while. It was like you guys would forget I was there or that I even existed. You’d always remember after a bit, but that was when they would take you again. Eventually you guys were taken back and never returned. For a couple hours, I thought the worst. Then they told me what had happened.”

 

Tears started welling in his eyes.

 

“They told me they had somehow blocked your memories of me. That it took a lot of trial and error, but eventually they found a way to alter perception of the past enough to get rid of me completely. They said it was an experiment of sorts. Take away everything a superhero has and see what they do. They erased me from all public records, they told me they even had someone get close enough to Stark Industries to mess with Friday. They had planned on keeping you guys for longer to test more theories, but you had all found a way to escape the last time they took you back. I think you guys had been planning on something for a while, but I was the only reason you couldn’t go through with it yet. Once you couldn’t remember me, there was no reason to stay.”

 

Peter paused to take a breath.

 

“They released me two days later. They told me that they were going to be watching me, and if I even attempted to contact you guys, they would kill you all. That was almost 6 weeks ago. Ever since, I’ve been living on the streets, trying to stay as far away as possible while still fulfilling my duties as Spiderman. That is, until last week.”

 

Natasha looked at him for the first time since the story started.

 

“What happened last week?”

 

Tony looked sick.

“He showed up at the tower. He passed out in the lobby, said his name was Parker Richards, and ran out before we could get him help.”  

Clint looked about ready to start a fight right then and there.

“Are you guys seriously buying this? We weren’t kidnapped by Hydra! We busted one of their bases! None of this kid’s story makes sense!”

 

“I have to agree with Clint, Tones, this all looks terribly suspicious.” Rhodey chimed in, placing a hand on Tony’s shoulder.

 

Wanda nodded her head, looking around the room to see most of the Avengers were in agreement. Everyone but Tony and Natasha.

 

“I believe him.” Natasha stepped forward, “Something has been nagging at me ever since we raided that base. Like I’ve been missing something big. When you were telling your story,” she glanced up at Peter, “Something fell into place.”

 

The rest of the Avengers all paused to give Natasha looks varying from concern to disbelief. They all turned away, however, as Tony made a muffled sound and shot up from where he had been typing furiously onto his StarkPhone.

 

“For the record, I believe you too, kid, and I’m about to prove his story to you all.”

 

Tony tapped on his screen and two holograms appeared in the air.

 

“This”, Tony pointed at the one closest to him, “is Friday’s coding six months ago. Flawless, if I do say so myself, considering I was the one who created it. The other one is her coding a few minutes ago, which has clearly been tampered with. Not easy to do, but apparently, given the right opportunities, completely possible. Now, I just reverted her coding back to the original form, so we should be able to ask her questions and get the unfiltered answer once the update is finished, right about… Now.”

 

With that, Tony’s phone beeped and flashed the words ‘update complete’ on the screen.

 

Tony seemed to steel himself for a moment before taking a deep breath.

 

“Friday, Who is Peter Parker?”

 

There was silence for a moment before the eventual reply.

 

“Peter Parker is your son, sir. You adopted him January 23, 2006 and have been the sole legal guardian of him ever since, barring the three months in 2008 when Pepper Potts assumed temporary custody after your kidnapping.”

 

Everyone in the room seemed to take in a collective breath of air. Tony sat down heavily in the chair as if he, too, was surprised by the answer despite his earlier claims to believe the kid. Peter, however just smiled at the ceiling fondly.

 

“Thanks for having my back, Friday.” He said quietly.

 

“Of course, Peter. Welcome back.”

 

Something nagged at the back of Sam’s mind.

“Wait, if Pepper knew about Peter, why didn’t she say something? Surely she would’ve noticed a whole kid going missing!”

 

Tony felt sick once more.

 

“We haven’t been on speaking terms for a couple of months now. God, the one person who could have remedied this situation and I just pushed her away.”

 

“This wasn’t your fault, Mr. Stark. There was nothing you could’ve done.” Peter’s small voice cut through the room.

 

“Yeah, well I beg to dif--”

Tony was abruptly cut off by the sound of gunfire ricocheting through the hallway.

 

Then everything went to hell.

**Author's Note:**

> The end of this story was literally written so rushed, I'm so sorry. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! I have no idea if this is written well or not, but im so excited for the idea!


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